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Perception

Definition

Perception is the process by which the nature and meaning of sensory stimuli are recognized and interpreted. Perception can be influenced by attention and can occur subliminally, without conscious awareness.

Though memory and sleep are related, it is still unclear whether new memories can be formed during sleep. Here, authors show that people could learn new sounds during REM or light non-REM sleep, but that learning was suppressed when sounds were played during deep NREM sleep.

The authors address why the use of prior expectations might be compromised in autism, by using computational models and pupillometric markers of the neuromodulator noradrenaline. They show that by estimating the world to be more changeable than it really is, adults with autism have difficulty in learning what to expect.

Keeping a picture in mind requires many brain cells to actively communicate ... or does it? There might be more to working memory than neuronal chatter, and silent processes could be hiding right beneath the surface.

Evidence reveals that humans share remarkably similar patterns of event-specific neural activity during spontaneous spoken recall. Posterior medial cortex appears to play a key role in transforming experience into memory.

Our understanding of faces reflects both our perception of their facial features and our social knowledge. This interaction of stereotypes and vision can be observed in brain signals in fusiform gyrus and orbitofrontal cortex.